We search the world, asking questions. Sometimes we get answers that change the way we look at our lives and the cosmos.

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Theory of everything?

Posthuman Blues has a question about when physicists will arrive at the theory of everything. If a TOE is accomplished, he wants to know, do you think it will have any unexpected effects on human consciousness? If so, of what kind?

Human beings must, MUST view the information given to them by the environment through a left-right hemisphere informational bias. In laymen's terms, people categorize things and then send those categories to either the left or right hemisphere of the brain. It's a survival mechanism. Though I suspect we will master the human brain, and perhaps even create a perfect theory of everything, I think that the majority of the people would choose to disbelieve it, just as Nietzsche viewed society as producing a minority of great (WO)men. The human brain is ultimately a disinformation tool, evolved to give us enough knowledge of the environment to produce 2 and a half children and then die, though, through hard work, our lives can become more.

If the (unified) theory of everything is accomplished will it have any unsuspected effects on human consciousness?there is a vast blissful ignorance like a visor upon the commonly propagated perceptive tuning of mind advised for most of mankind who might tune in to some TV occasionally for 2D kicks that go along more or less harmoniously with the workaday reality of the petro-weapon economy of modern mankind. The widest human apertures have absolutely abandoned the flesh to whatever remainder it might persist upon to personally arcane parabolas of experience that meander off upon quantum paths toward what our tick-tock decay fancies to be the future...the direction from which the light is coming...it may be that that peculiar combination of moistures which adhere so closely to the carbon molecule base of tactile galactic reality here at this particular ninety million mile range from the terrarium bulb will lighten and separate entirely like meat from a bone too long stewed. The separation will cause the overall lightening and aeration of the entire universe all cause deep cellular healing and regeneration at levels previously unknown to the mortal memories of flaura and fauna.

A theory of everything would not only espouse the known, but the mystery, thus could not by nature be closed but must be infinite; stasis unreachable, tenuous as holding the wind while pushing the river with one hand clapping. Each speculation a tiny chapter in a book that can only seek its covers.

Of course. TOE will explain everything in this universe, maybe even make predictions about the multiverse. It will probably find a powerful and simple formalism that can be translated easily, even dumbos will understand. It will most probably bring anti-gravity and zero-point energy. It will open the doors to the universe and beyond. We may even find that this universe is nothing but a simulation, and contact the producers and learn the awful truth; it is a rehabilitation (prison) colony. Who knows, but definitely worth hanging out for. It may even happen within the decade. How cool would that be? I would love an anti-gravity car, to got to Mars to have a cuppa.

Some stuff is unknowable. At a certain point, physics will become exhausted of explanatory power. But that's no reason to stop.

However, devising experiments large enuf to prove/disprove the various wonderful theories is proving to be an unsurmountable roadblock. At some point, having laid out all the possibilities side by side, we may have to Seti-Beam them outward, and let somebody else choose amongst.

Do you think maybe,if perfect world communication was developed, and an urgent need to conspire, everybody working on the same koan somehow arose, or was devised, a way around, through, or "out of" might occur?

If a TOE is accomplished, he wants to know, do you think it will have any unexpected effects on human consciousness? If so, of what kind?

By answering this question are we transforming the unexpected into the expected and therefore creating a situation in which all answers are incorrect?

I reckon most people won't care, and even fewer will have the education and intelligence to understand it (myself included). But how many people need to understand in order to have an effect on human consciousness? Will one do the trick?

Assume tomorrow someone claimed they had the TOE. Then begins the process of acceptance of the theory by the scientific community through further theory & laboratory testing. At some point it might be accepted as TOE.

But what do you have at that point? You have that bothersome "conventional wisdom". Scientists have a complete acceptance of quantum theory because it works, has been used most effectively, & has never been proven wrong. With this long & useful past, there is not one blessed thing about the theory that they have explained.

Everything about the theory is speculation. Why would the TOE be any different? If they cannot explain anything about previous theories, how could they possibly explain the TOE?

I suspect they might be able to use it technologically after a time, but would not be able to explain anything the theory says beyond speculation.

There are many things scientists want to test in relativity & quantum theory, but readily admit it might well be impossible due to the energies & technology required. It stands to reason it would probably be worse with the TOE.

your assuming we are conscious enough to accomplish this TOE already? I don't know, thats like which come's first, the chicken, the egg, or the rooster. But if it happens I hope it comes before that cellular metamorphing the Frazzler mentioned(in comments section).bob-the-goat said spec!ha!ha!

I think right now humans are looking through the lenses of too many inacuracies and lies in the fields of history, religion, science and physics in order to really formulate a TOE. It is going to take a monumental event of "biblical" proportions in order to shake the fog from our consiousness, so that we may see the universe for what it is and stop placing our own problems and obstacles in the way of such thinking required for a TOE.